


Induction of the Raven

by Galahard



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Age Differences, F/M, Harry can be quite prepared when he wants to be, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Warning: contains brief hetero sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 11:43:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7756459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galahard/pseuds/Galahard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Use Hume's Problem of Induction, Hempel's Raven Paradox and/or Goodman's Gruesome Problem, in having Harry and Eggsy argue why them being romantically involved would be a good/bad idea. (I'm not really particular about who's on which side, but Harry being pro-romance would be interesting - after all the works out there which feature Harry having an age-related crisis).</p>
<p>Likes: snark, quick-wit, historical accuracy, scientific theoretical accuracy, any kind of smut works if you can fit it into the story (save for extreme fetishes like necrophilia, gore, emetophilia, etc. - but even so, it's not an absolute no, I don't mind anything with purpose in its execution)</p>
<p>Dislikes: fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, gender-bending (please, no gender-bending), tragedy, character death, pining, overly-emotional characters</p>
            </blockquote>





	Induction of the Raven

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hati_skoll](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hati_skoll/gifts).



Eggsy was looking at him thoughtfully, but in the end the other agent shook his head. “I just don’t know mate, I mean, yeah, I like you and all, I just ain’t never really thought about it before.”

“I think we’re well matched,” Harry pointed out, lifting his pint and taking another long draught. “However, I would prefer if you would wait to make your final decision. Please, just give me twenty four hours to change your mind, and if I do not then we can continue on as we have been.”

“Which is pretty fucking great,” Eggsy pointed out. “We’ve got better stats than any other agents in the branch.”

Harry nodded, mind already elsewhere, thinking of what he would need. “What can I say, I have excellent taste.”

+++

“Thank you for taking the time to stop by.”

Harry was standing by the door, clearly ushering him in, and Eggsy sauntered past him and headed toward the living room. “Ain’t no big deal.”

“Actually I wanted to meet in my office if you don’t mind, I trust you remember the way?”

He did, and while the request was unusual he didn’t particularly mind it. Fuck, this whole thing was unusual, and he wasn’t quite sure why he’d agreed to it. He liked Harry, more than most people really, but he couldn’t really see them together. He was still young and sowing his wild oats, and he wasn’t particularly ready to settle down any time soon.

So he wasn’t ready to walk into Harry’s office to see folders neatly arranged on the table, along with a laptop and a set of speakers. It took a moment to realize what else was different, and when it hit him he turned to give Harry a quick look of confusion.

The walls weren’t bare, but every single copy of _The Sun_ had been taken down and replaced with various charts, diagrams, and other reports.

“Go ahead,” Harry offered, standing in the doorway with his hands tucked behind his back, surveying the room himself. 

Eggsy made his way to the wall, looking at a chart of numbers and letters, picking out a few things here and there such as CO2 and Ca, but not really sure what HbA1c was. The next column contained a range of numbers or percentages, and in the final column was a single number.

“Ah, that would be my latest blood test results. You’ll find the rest below them. As you can see the results are perfectly within normal parameters. To the left you’ll see the positive results for my thyroid test, and above that would be my blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen levels.”

“You replaced your tokens with health results.”

“Not all of this is related to my health, Eggsy, that would be absurd, though if you’re worried about potential health risks related to my ancestry I did include that. If you look on the wall opposite of us you’ll also find IQ tests as well as other statistics such as recent target practice results. I believe if you take a look around you’ll understand a little better that age is somewhat subjective.”

He couldn’t help but take Harry up on the offer to look around, curiosity winning at the moment. At some point Harry transitioned to sitting at his desk, but he didn’t rush Eggsy, and eventually he sat down across from the older agent.

“So, that’s why I’m here? To see that you’re fucking fit so you ain’t going to kick the bucket no time soon?”

“In part, but as you know I am quite partial to you, Eggsy. My goal is not to merely prove anything, it is to convince you.”

Harry reached for one of the folders, sliding it until it was centered in front of him before gesturing for him to go ahead. He complied, and stared down, eyes widening as reality sunk in.

“These your fucking bank accounts Harry? Why the fuck are you---wait you’ve got all that just sitting in savings? Why the fuck ain’t you investing that shit?”

“This is simply for anything that may arise, so I won’t have to worry about getting loans for something minor. If you keep looking you’ll find my investments. I’ve invested in a few companies but I’ve also secured some money in bonds. Behind that you’ll find the deeds to my other residences, some of which I let out to cover the costs of taxes and the like.

“As you can see, becoming romantically involved with someone older can provide certain degrees of stability to your life. I have no intention of trying to have a kept man, nor do I believe that you wish that, but you would not need to worry any longer about financial security. You could purchase an entire Adidas store if you wish, though it is probably more reasonable to simply invest in their stock.”

The totals were staggering as individual amounts, and added together it verged on being ridiculous. Eggsy couldn’t even come up with a proper response, staring at the file before closing it slowly, reverently, and wordlessly reaching for the next.

“I am quite aware that your concerns are not only in my age, but also in your youth,” Harry murmured, and he could feel his eyes on him as he opened up the new folder.

Michael Caine stared up at him, next to his wife, and while Eggsy had seen her he couldn’t quite place her. “What’s this? You know him or something?”

“Not personally, no, but I thought you might enjoy some trivia about Michael and Shakira. Were you aware that they had been married for 43 years and they have a 14 year age gap? And yet look how happy they are.”

He was starting to see where this was going but rather than commenting he simply flipped the page, looking at a man grinning as he leaned on the handles of an elderly woman’s wheelchair, who instead of looking at the camera was looking up at him fondly.

“Madison met Eric at the Olympics in 2004. He was there to participate and she was there to observe, and one celebration led to another.”

The next picture was of a teenage couple, both of them sporting black eyes and busted lips in handcuffs together, but when he glanced up at Harry the man didn’t look like anything was out of the ordinary.

“She believed he was cheating on her when he got a text,” was the only explanation Harry offered until he moved on to the next image.

This one was another couple he somewhat recognized. “Rod Stewart just married Penny Lancaster in 2007, but their relationship so far has been a success. There are 26 years between them.”

This couple was followed by a picture of an older couple glaring spitefully at each other, sneers on their faces, and yet Harry offered no explanation before he turned to yet another happy couple with an anecdote from Harry, and then to a certainly familiar, grinning, couple.

“Hugh Jackman’s wife is 13 years older than him, and they met while working together. They’re known for being a happy and well adjusted couple.”

He actually hadn’t given it much thought before. “Yeah, I guess there are more couples with age gaps out there than I thought,” he acknowledged. “Ain’t too rare or nothing.”

Then he turned the page, and there was another couple, this time standing over a body as they argued.

“What the actual fuck Harry?”

Harry remained calm, hands resting on the desk as he leaned forward slightly. “As you have seen, couples with age differences are often happy, successful, and tend to stay together. These other pictures are of couples of the same age. You can clearly see the strife and turmoil in that sort of relationship.”

“It don’t mean there ain’t no issues with other couples.”

“On contraire, according to Hempel’s paradox, that is certainly what the evidence suggests. These pictures simply seek to prove my point from a different perspective.”

“That sounds like bullshit.”

“Wait, there’s more,” Harry assured him, and then turned to the laptop, pulling up a video with a familiar frame on it.

“Is this a mission recording?”

“Indeed it is.”

Harry pressed play and settled back, and Eggsy shifted to see the screen better.

This time it didn’t take a moment to figure out what it was, by the moans and grunts it was immediately apparent.

The glasses had apparently been resting on the nightstand, giving perhaps not the best view, but it was good enough. A woman was riding Harry, head thrown back as she bounced on his cock, fondling her own breasts as Harry rested his hands on her hips, thumbs rubbing circles into her skin.

Other than the video the room was quiet.

The sudden movement was well executed as Harry flipped their positions, the woman now on her back, legs wrapped around his waist, and he could see the muscles in Harry’s thighs flex as he began to pound into her in earnest.

“I am a dedicated lover, even if it is for work.”

Harry’s voice cut the relative silence right before the woman began to cry out in ecstasy. 

“I try my best to ensure that my partner experiences as much pleasure as I do.”

The video cut out, and for a minute Eggsy thought that this...well, whatever it was, was over, but then a new image came onto the screen.

It wasn’t a terribly great image, buttons on a shirt and a bit of skin, but from the slurping and the back and forth motion of the camera what was happening was easily apparent.

Several minutes later the view stilled and even on the video he could hear a choking noise, followed by coughing. 

“My jaw was aching,” Harry mused, almost as if lost in thought. “But again, it’s important to me that my partner experiences pleasure. Also, I wanted to remind you that while I would prefer to be monogamous, I do consider missions to be work, so you would still be able to have lots of other experiences if work called for it, and in no way would I be upset with you doing your duty.”

He didn’t even know how to respond, other than to adjust in his seat slightly, and, when Harry was turned, reaching down to adjust himself.

Harry closed out of the video and turned to him somewhat expectantly.

“So, do you feel any differently? I’ve hopefully established that age may not be such a large factor or potentially, in fact, a benefit, and the good that can come from relationships with age gaps. While you have yet to experience it first hand I can get you several testimonials as to my sexual prowess if you desire.”

Eggsy cleared his throat and swallowed, trying not to think about what he’d just watched, and how, while it had been immensely awkward, he’d also felt the slightest traces of jealousy. 

“Don’t take this the wrong way, yeah? But you made all these connections and stuff, but ain’t it all... what’s that called again? The opposite of what Sherlock does, uh, inductive reasoning? You ain’t got no proof for anything really. Sorry, I ain’t trying to be a skeptic or nothing, but just this doesn’t really give a full case.”

“Ah, you’re making Hume’s argument then and going with The Problem of Induction? David was quite the skeptic himself.”

“I think I heard about him in class or something,” Eggsy admitted. “So, are these conclusions even valid? You connected a bunch of shit, but that don’t mean that’s all there is to it.”

“Can you disprove it?” Harry challenged. “The reasoning may not be what you prefer, but there is reasoning. I’m offering you options, but in the end it has to be up to you to decide.”

Eggsy thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. “I don’t think I can give you the answer you want to hear, Harry. Not now at least. But I ain’t saying no. Let’s just give it a try, yeah? See what happens?”


End file.
